World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries against becoming complacent in the fight against COVID-19 at a press briefing Wednesday, as cases soar worldwide.
Why it matters: As many countries are beginning to emphasize learning to live with the virus, Tedros cautioned the dangers of this approach given how much of the world remains unvaccinated.
Health tech veteran Glen Tullman keeps spawning unicorns. 🦄 Transcarent, a consumer-directed health care navigation company launched and led by Tullman, raised $200 million in a Series C round.
Why it matters: The funding brings Transcarent’s total capital raised to $298 million in just over one year, placing its valuation at $1.62 billion, Forbes reports.
Private equity firm GTCR is nearing a deal to acquire Experity, the country's largest electronic health records company for the urgent care market, from Warburg Pincus, four sources tell Axios.
What's happening: The transaction is expected to value the company at between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, translating to an EBITDA multiple in the high teens, although no deal has yet been signed.
COVID was the highest cause of law enforcement deaths in 2021, according to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).
Driving the news: COVID-related deaths increased 65% last year. Of the 458 confirmed law enforcement line-of-duty deaths from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 301 were caused by COVID.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would provide every person in the U.S. with three free N95 masks, he announced in a statement Tuesday.
Details: The Masks for All Act, first introduced in 2020, aims to improve access to high-filtration face masks by sending them to every person in the country, including people who are homeless, and those living in congregate settings like prison shelters or college dorms, per the bill summary.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday tested positive for COVID-19 and said he is feeling "extremely unwell," according to a statement.
Driving the news: Justice, 70, woke up Tuesday morning with congestion and a cough, he said, adding that by late afternoon his "blood pressure and heart rate were extremely elevated," in addition to having a high fever.
Omicron infections are associated with a 91% reduction in risk of death compared to the Delta variant, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, citing a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study.
The big picture: The study also showed that Omicron infections were also associated with a 74% reduction in risk of going to the ICU, as well as a 53% reduction in risk of being hospitalized, Rochelle Walensky said.
Former President Trump slammed politicians who refuse to reveal whether they have received their COVID vaccine booster shots, calling them "gutless" in an interview with One American News Network.
Driving the news: While Trump did not specifically name anyone, some GOP politicians, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have dodged questions about their booster status.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it's increasing the number of COVID-19 tests available to schools by 10 million per month — as the Omicron variant drives a surge in cases and causes widespread disruption to education.
Why it matters: While it appears Omicron causes less severe illness than other variants, it's still placing a strain on health care systems and causing a drop in teacher and student attendance.
More than half of Americans say that it's more important to protect the health and safety of teachers and students by moving to remote learning to avoid COVID exposure than to keep schools open for in-person learning, according to a new Harris Poll provided exclusively to Axios.
Driving the news: How to handle in-person learning amid yet another surge of cases is again the subject of intense debate following the Chicago Teacher's Union refusal to return to in-person classes as Omicron cases surged.
Novak Djokovic apologized Wednesday for not isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 and blamed his agent for an "administrative mistake" when making an incorrect declaration in his Australian travel document.
Why it matters: Australia's immigration minister is still considering whether to revoke the men's tennis world No. 1's visa and deport him, despite Djokovic winning his legal case to stay in the country and defend his Australian Open title at the tournament, which begins Monday.
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